Of Tail Fins and Seaweed Tails
by snazy piranha
Summary: I sit here alone and defenseless, stuck here for ever, in this forbidden cave covered in rotten seaweed and broken dreams. Who am I? You know me as the Sea Witch, villain from the little mermaid. Well, things didn't go quite the way you think they did...C
1. Prologue

Prologue  
  
Across vast plains, across great mountains, lies the sea, wondrous beauty of the world. Deep under its waves and past its coral gardens, a story was born. A story of a little mermaid, youngest princess of King Triton, King of the Sea and ruler of the legendary mer people. A tale of love, adventure, risk, and trickery. You all know the story, of course you do, it is a lovely tale, a marvelous bedtime story.  
  
But that is all it is. A tale, a myth, a twisted little story. They took truth, and entwined it with master trickery, extravagant details, unbelievable boldness and cruel lies. How are 'they', you ask? Well, you shall hear about them later, each thing shall come at its own time.  
  
So I sit here. Alone, concurred and prodded into submission by storytellers and battlers of truth. Yet I have a plan. A glorious plan.  
  
Who am I? Well, that is easy to guess. I am what the land dwellers and those pitiful, weak merpeople have named the Sea Witch. Yes, well, you might not think of me so endearingly now, you believe me to be that cruel, old, ugly, and insanely evil mermaid who nearly took over Atlantia, and killed their dear princess and her love. Yet I only ask one thing from you. Listen now, to what I have to say, and hopefully when I am done you shall think differently of the old crone who lives in the sorry poor excuse for a cave. You will be shocked to hear that I'm not even a mermaid, and I am certainly not an old crone.  
  
Listen now.  
  
To the breath of the wind on a salty sea day.  
  
Listen to the waves as they crash upon the rocks.  
  
Listen, listen to the voice of the sea. 


	2. One stormy night

Of Tail Fins and Seaweed Mist  
  
Chapter One  
  
Andrew Finn was a fisherman, just like his father, and his father's father. He didn't make much money, and he didn't lead a carefree life. Yet he was happy. He loved his little one-roomed hut on the beach, and he loved the smell of sea salt on a summer's day.  
  
Only one thing was wrong with his life. He was lonely. He often wished he could share his little hut with someone else, someone who would talk to him and care for him. He hadn't talked with another person in so long. Of course, he talked to the seagulls and the beautiful fish who swam beside his boat. Yet it wasn't the same. He wanted to share the sunrises and the sunsets with someone and share the breath of the sea with someone. He waited day and night for her, whom ever she would be.  
  
Then one stormy night, she came.  
  
Andrew was walking along the beach, and then it started raining, and thunder began to strike. He hurried into his hut, and started a fire, glad that he hadn't gone out to sea. He was making some tea, and then he sat down on his chair in front of the now blazing fire. He sipped his tea happily. Then, he looked outside, admiring the silver lightening bolts that contrasted with the midnight blue waves. Then he saw something peculiar. He got up and went to the window. There was something out on the beach...He looked closer, and could see that it was moving, slowly, as if trying to get up. He wearily put on his boots and coat, what a hassle, he thought, probably just an old sea lion trying to get back to its rock home.  
  
He then ventured outside, holding his hat to his head. He kept walking, almost being blown away by the great gusts of wind. Halfway to the creature he almost turned around, giving up, but he persevered, for he knew that the animal must be in great danger. He kept going. However, as he approached it, he learned with great surprise that it was no sea lion.  
  
It was a young woman.  
  
A beautiful young woman. Sixteen or so. He came closer, and saw that she was completely naked. He turned away, blushing. But he heard her moan with pain, and decided that it wasn't time to be polite, he had to help her. He came closer to her, and saw that she had a great gash on her stomach. He tried to stop the bleeding with his hands, but it was no use. She needed to get inside. He picked her up, wrapping her up in his coat. He carried her back to his hut in his arms. He went in, and realized that she had fallen asleep. He placed her gently on his bed, and quickly found some linens and hot water. A doctor wouldn't be able to come way out here on a night like this, and even if it was sunny, it would take too long. So he mended her wound expertly, very good for a fisherman. He wasn't sure what to do about clothing for her, so he simply left her as she was, and wrapped four blankets around her shivering body. Then he leaned in and gently kissed her on the forehead, and brought his chair to the bed to watch over her in case she woke up during the night. He gazed at her beauty as she slept, she had long, dark hair, and rosy red lips. She slept soundly, clutching the blankets as she slept. Soon Andrew fell asleep too.  
  
He woke up in the morning, stiff and sore, wondering what happened, then he looked to his bed, and it all came back. The young woman was still sleeping. He got up and began to make breakfast. He made lots, not sure how hungry she was. He brought it all to the table, and saw her standing there, looking at him curiously. He blushed again, he needed to find her some clothes. He muttered, "Come with me," as he looked at the floor. She followed, and he pulled out one of his shirts and a pair of pants. She didn't look like she knew what to do, so he had to help her. Finally, after some time, he at last managed to get her dressed half decently. He led her to the table, showing her the food. She ate hungrily, like she hadn't eaten in months. He watched her, noticing her eyes. Dark blue, just like the night he had found her.  
  
He had found that someone at last.  
  
* * * Hey! I hope you all liked it, I loved reading this. I thought I'd extend this a bit, starting from the very beginning. Don't worry, if this doesn't make sense now, it will, I promise!  
  
Mel: Glad you liked it!  
  
Michele: You too!  
  
Teigr: Thanks for all your help, all your support means so much! YOU NEED TO POST CHAP 17!  
  
Miss Piratess: more popcorn! Hahahaha  
  
ElvenDreams: I'm so glad you like the beginning, this is going to be some of my best work, thanks for taking the time to read! 


	3. The love of a man

Of Tail Fins and Seaweed Mist  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Andrew took her into town that day to buy her some clothes, and to take her to the doctor's. The doctor told him that he had done exactly the right thing, by not pestering her with questions and by healing her wound. The doctor looked at her, he was intrigued. He had never seen someone like this. There was something...so inhuman about her, like she had an aura of magic around her. He shrugged his head, thinking she must just be strange, that's all.  
  
Andrew took her into the Olsen's Dress Store and the customers and Mr. Olsen stared. Besides the fact that they had never seen Andrew leave his hut, much less come to buy a dress, they were shocked when they saw this young woman. She was beautiful. They had never seen anything like her. They stared while Andrew bought her four dresses, a nightdress, and other things. It nearly drained his savings, but it was for a good cause. He took her back to his hut, and showed her with some confusion himself how to dress herself. Then, when she was clothed properly, and she had had a bath, he began to ask her things.  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
The girl just looked at the floor, silent. Andrew sighed, and got up to get ready to go out to sea for the day. He thought she couldn't speak English, he would have to teach her himself, he couldn't afford a private instructor.  
  
"Adriana."  
  
He stopped. He turned around.  
  
"You can talk?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
He began to ask her more. Her family, where she was from, everything.  
  
"I'm from...a faraway land. A very far land."  
  
"Why aren't you there?'  
  
"I...I wanted to...to... find another life. I wasn't happy," she said this as tears slid down her much healthier looking cheeks.  
  
"I didn't mean to offend you! I'm so sorry. Why where you lying on the beach, why were you...naked?" Andrew stammered, sad that he had caused her grief.  
  
"I'm sorry, Andrew, I can't answer this...Maybe one day...Someday..." She stopped, and wriggled her feet.  
  
"Alright".  
  
So, months past, and Adriana moved out on her own, after living with Andrew for two weeks. She went to stay in the second story of a house belonging to old Mrs. Ulles. Soon, after six moths of night schooling, she became the local teacher. Everyone loved her. Her students brought her flowers and apples, in the hopes of smile and kind words. Young men dressed up in their finest clothes to talk to her, bringing small gifts like roses and rings they had made. Yet even with all this, she would find time once a week to go down to the sea to find quiet and alone Andrew, whom still lived in his hut. They sometimes talked, and they sometimes just sat. Adriana was happy with everything.  
  
Andrew, on the other hand, wasn't as happy. He loved Adriana with all his heart, and he couldn't stand just sitting and talking. Yet he didn't know what to do. He had seen young men take her gifts and kiss her, but he couldn't imagine doing that, he squirmed with shyness and nervousness. No, he would have to stay this way, wait, while some other man would whisk her away while he stayed here, alone with his boat.  
  
Adriana wondered often why Andrew never attempted to hold her or court her, she could tell that he loved her, but she wondered why he didn't do anything. Her heart ached, she loved him too.  
  
So, time went on, and Andrew soon turned 21, and Adriana, they guessed turned 18. Andrew watched her come out of the school, always meaning to talk to her, but then some other man would come, and he would walk home sad and grieved.  
  
Another year passed, and then Adriana began to lose hope. She didn't want to stay here forever, she wanted to marry Andrew, but if not, she would leave. So she packed her bags, and then the whole town threw her a party, one which Andrew had not been invited, the villagers always forgot about the handsome, quiet young man who lived in the hut by the sea.  
  
Andrew was sitting on a piece of driftwood at the time, weaving a ring for Adriana made out of stalks of sea grass and with a single, dark blue stone in the center that he had found in the mouth of a fish one day. He knew that he would never have the courage to give it to her, but just in case, he thought, he would hold on to it.  
  
Then he heard music and laughing. He walked, and could see a celebration. Hum, what is it for? Then he saw it. A huge banner displaying,  
  
"GOOD LUCK AND FAREWELL ADRIANA! WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU!"  
  
What? Adriana was leaving? But she couldn't! No! She was the one for him! Andrew jumped up, thrusting the ring into his pocket, running as fast as he could towards town. "  
  
"No! She can't...huff...leave! I...wheeze...pant...love her."  
  
He knew it. He couldn't let her go! She was his sea-maiden, he had rescued her, without him, she would have died, and now, without her, he would die.  
  
He ran through the festivities, up to Adriana.  
  
"Adriana, I know this is...sudden, but, before you leave, I just want to say..." Here goes, he though! "I..."  
  
The town was silent. Say it, they thought!  
  
"I love you."  
  
They rejoiced, and Adriana leapt forwards to him.  
  
"I have nothing to offer you, but I can tell you this. Every day and every night of my life, I will love you with everything I have, I will protect you and make sure you stay happy. I may not be rich, and I don't know if I can ever give you what some of these other men can give you. But I know this. I love you, and I want to spend every day and every night for the rest of my life trying to show you just how much I love you."  
  
Adriana stepped into his arms; tears streaming down her face.  
  
"I love you too, Andrew Finn". Andrew slipped the ring onto her finger, and with a deep breath...  
  
He kissed her.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Hey, I hope you all liked it! I loved writing this; I started getting emotional myself! Ok, and something I really really really have to say here is this. Everything that you have read is mine. Nothing is from the little mermaid. Adriana is NOT Ariel of the Sea witch, ok? I really have to make this clear. Everything will come together soon, but not yet. So, just trust me hear, all right? Thanks, you guys are awesome! Luv all of ya! 


	4. A little cottage by the sea

Of Tail Fins and Seaweed Mist  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Everyone in town came to Andrew and Adriana's wedding, and everyone rejoiced. Old Mrs. Ulles, Adriana's landlady, organized the wedding like Adriana was her own daughter. It was a simple affair, but filled with love and joy. As Andrew watched his beautiful young bride walk down the aisle towards him, he knew he had made the right decision.  
  
They said their vows, and kissed. The ceremony was held in the park, and everyone danced and ate.  
  
After everything, Andrew took Adriana to his home. But he had a surprise. His little two-room hut was too small, he had decided, so from the moment he had proposed, he began to work on a new home. It wasn't luxurious or anything, but it was a beautiful home. It was made with pearly white blue stones, with a thatched roof. It had four rooms, small, but four rooms none the less. He had planted watercress and all sorts of other herbs, and beautiful sea-like flowers, and behind the cottage there was a pond, with frogs and fish. But the best was inside.  
  
Adriana gasped when she saw the cottage, she was delighted. It was beautiful. She walked inside, and Andrew led her to the big surprise. She walked into the room, and stared around in awe. It was a beautiful room. All the walls were made from intricate tiny shells found along the shore. Andrew spent many hours putting each individual shell into its place.  
  
"I made this room for you, Adriana, it is for you, to do what you wish, your workroom. And when the moonlight shine through the window, it casts light onto the shells, and it provides a pale blue light all around the room."  
  
"Andrew, thank you so much, this means...the world to me."  
  
"I know."  
  
So they sat there in the shell room, Andrew holding Adriana, and they gazed around, watching how the moonlight bounced off each shell, and watching the sea waves roar and crash. That was how they spent their first night together.  
  
Life wasn't easy, but they always made it. They were poor, but happy. Andrew became a carpenter, and after he was done work, he would go out to the sea, where he belonged, to catch fish to sell and for food for his family. Adriana found that she had a great talent. She could paint. She sold her paintings for quite a bit, and she also grew vegetables and raised cows, chickens, and pigs to eat and to sell.  
  
They both often went swimming together, and Andrew found it odd how fast and how gracefully she swam. Most humans look clumsy and uncoordinated in the water, but Adriana swam with the fish, almost as if she was one herself. It was very odd, Andrew thought, but any mention of where she came from always brought remorse and sadness.  
  
Then, something happened to make their lives even more joyful. Adriana was with child. They sat on the shore, while the sea sang soothing lullabies to their unborn child. They were the happiest people in the country.  
  
Eight months later, Adriana gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Alexia. She had her father's green eyes, and her mother's dark hair. The midwife thought it was odd that the baby didn't utter a single cry as she came into the world. She just looked around, and smiled. She was a miracle.  
  
Following Alexia came Tina, Albert, Allison, Robbie, and Martha. Each was beautiful.  
  
They were happy. Andrew had added on another room to the cottage, because all six children couldn't fit in one room. The children were extremely smart, and all the people in the town and their children liked them all, for they were well behaved, and fun. But the thing they loved to do most was swim. They swam like it was part of their nature, like walking, talking, and breathing. They could hold their breaths for nearly five minutes.  
  
Adriana soon found out that she was pregnant. Their seventh child. There is a superstition that the seventh child of a family will rise above others. But if the family has an eighth child, then the superstition is cancelled out. It was odd, but many believed in it. So that was why, nine months later, many came to see the birth of the seventh child of the sea family.  
  
When she finally came into the world, she looked around, with stormy blue eyes exactly like her mother's. None of the other children had eyes like that. Andrew stared at them. It reminded him of that night, nine years ago, when he had found his love. Everyone saw something in that child.  
  
This child would be great.  
  
Hey! Well, I hope you liked this one too! I'd just like to point something out. Those of you who are reading 'A Blackened Rose', will notice that these two stories are a bit alike, yet completely opposite. Two couples get married. One is poor, the other rich. The rich one is unhappy, the poor one is blissfully happy. There are more similarities, I just thought to show you one or two! Anyway, thanks to all for reading this! I love writing this story; it's really fun to write.  
  
Kaio: Well, Adriana is someone completely made up, you'll see who she is in time!  
  
Teigr: Well, the name has something to do with it, but many fisherman have names like that. Plus I love the name!  
  
ElvenDreams: Well, the reason I don't stretch it out is this. This isn't part of the whole sea witch story, it is the beginning, and I need to get started!  
  
Miss Piratess: Yes, it is fairly emotional, but don't worry, there will be lots of betrayal, hurt, and hatred! I won't disappoint you.  
  
Mel: Thanks!  
  
Shiseidox: I know, it's fluffy, but it will change...it'll become dark soon.  
  
Michele: Glad you like it!  
  
NOTE: This all takes place in like the 1600's, and pretty much in an Irish, Scottish setting. But it's like everything combined, England, France, I'm not just going to stick with one country's culture, I want tons!!! Oh, and for those who think it is too fluffy and frivolous, Adriana is going to do something drastic that will leave Andrew heartbroken next chapter... 


	5. Betrayal and Loss

Of Tail Fins and Seaweed Mist  
  
Chapter 5  
  
She was named Calypso, after the Sea Goddess of Old.  
  
After her birth, Adriana became more depressed, and more withdrawn. She stopped going to town, and she stopped talking to her children, who pleaded her to talk to them. Three years went by, and she did nothing worthwhile.  
  
She just watched the sea, as it roared and thundered. She muttered under her breath, things no one could understand. Andrew pleaded with her to tell him what was wrong. She shrugged away from his grasp, and looked down at her feet. She eventually just stayed in bed, never eating, and only getting up to sit on the beach.  
  
Then it happened.  
  
Andrew came home, and found his children huddled together, crying.  
  
"What is wrong?" he asked them, very worried.  
  
"It's mother, she's gone, and she's taken Calypso," said Robbie, who was comforting Martha.  
  
"Where? Where has she gone?"  
  
"To the sea."  
  
Andrew ran out the door, and ran down to the edge of the ocean. He saw Adriana's head bobbing out of the water, her shoulders bare. She looked at him with tears in her eyes. Then Andrew saw that she had Calypso in her hands.  
  
"No! You can't leave, I love you! Calypso is my child too, you can't take her!" Andrew waded out, trying to swim towards her. Adriana let him, and he soon came to her, panting.  
  
"I'm sorry, Andrew, I love you too, but I can not stay, I need to go home. The sea is my home. I didn't tell you the truth, but I need to go. I can't stay here anymore."  
  
"But why take Calypso?"  
  
"She is like I am. She must return to her home, below the ocean. I'm sorry."  
  
With that, she turned away, and dove deep down.  
  
Andrew screamed, and dove down after her, his ears pounding. He kept swimming, he needed to find her. Then he saw her. He saw her for what she truly was. She was no human. She was a mermaid. He stared at her in awe. She was the same from head to waist, besides the fact that she looked wild and free, but below this naked part of her, she had a long, shimmering, silver tail. She kissed him once on the lips, and was gone.  
  
His love, her that he had loved with all his heart, was gone.  
  
He tried to keep swimming, but he couldn't breathe. He wanted to drown. He let the waves bring him up, and he swam slowly to shore, thinking of what he would tell his children.  
  
"Where is mama? Is she coming back?' the children screamed, they were frightened.  
  
"She is...gone."  
  
I remember that day, fifteen years ago. I was three years old, and I was just snatched from the only place I knew of as home, and taken to a completely different world.  
  
Mother came out from her room, and she told me to get up and come with her. I wondered why she was only taking me, but I went, because I was ecstatic to be included in her game, for I was in awe of my mother. She was beautiful, and I wanted to be just like her. I picked up my doll, and took her hand. She led me to the beach, and pulled me into the water with her. I screamed, I didn't want to swim. She hushed me, and began to swim, slowly removing her clothing. I looked down, and my eyes widened as I saw that she had a silver tail. She was one of those creatures that I had seen in my picture books.  
  
She kissed me, and pulled me under the water. I panicked, I couldn't breathe! She put her finger to my lips, and said,  
  
"Breathe, sweetheart, this is where you belong."  
  
I did reluctantly, and as I did, I felt myself getting stronger.I tugged at my clothes, they were awkward in the water, and I didn't like being weighed down, so my mother helped me. Then I kicked my chubby legs, wanting to go deeper. We swam on and on, and I was getting hungry. I saw a light up ahead. My mother took my hand and took me further towards it. As we neared, I could see a beautiful castle, with lights lit up in it. I had never seen anything like it!  
  
I reached my arms towards it, trying to propel myself faster. As we neared, I saw other beautiful women and men with tails like my mother's, stepping away from us in fear and apprehension. I grew scared, I cuddled closer to my mother. She held on to me, and propelled her fins even quicker. We soon reached the castle. My mother carried me up to the steps, and the crowd silenced, and parted, watching as my mother swam towards the center of the room, where an imposing merman with a long silvery tail to match his hair where a crown made of shells stood. She kept propelling herself, and then stopped in front of him, and said,  
  
"Here is the child, your Highness."  
  
"You had betrayed us, leaving us for that realm which we do not speak of, and what is worse, married one of them. What you have done is unforgivable, even condemnable, but since you have brought back the child of the prophecies, all will be forgiven in good time. For the rest of her life, she shall be instructed in the palace along with the Royal Children, and you shall live faraway from here."  
  
Adriana bowed her dark head, tears in her eyes, and said, "I apologize my lord." Then she left, and that was the last time I ever saw my mother for the next ten years.  
  
I was immediately handed over to a gentle, kind, old mermaid who wore many necklaces of pearl which meant she was high ranking, and took me to a lovely room all made from pearly white shells, with a bed of pink coral rock, and lovely clam lights.  
  
"Here we go my poppet, sweet dreams to you." She left, and I slept, happy with where I was, but the last thing I saw when I fell asleep was the sad look in my father's eyes as we disappeared into the sea.  
  
Life was good for me, I was treated like one of the princesses of court. There were 18 princesses and 18 princes, all sons and daughters of the king, for, as I learned soon enough, the King had 10 wives, who's sole purpose was to supply the kingdom with heirs, and also many mistresses. The wives varied in ages, from the first wife who was almost as old as the King himself and had given birth to two sons, and had miscarried six times more, and who was no longer treated as a queen but as a nurse, she was the one who had taken me to my room, to the youngest of the wives a girl of fourteen, little more than a child, Ralia, who had just been married, and had yet to conceive a child. There was, of course, a high Queen, for who else would appear alongside the King? Her name was Miranda, and she was less than half the age of the King, only 25, and she had given birth to four daughters and two sons. She was his favorite of the wives, and a good woman, beautiful beyond comparison. So I had my lessons with the royal children, and made friends with some, enemies with others. High Queen Miranda taught us the history of the Mer People, for she was one of the most learned mermaids in the ocean. Later on, I sometimes wondered if she had wanted more than to be equalized with the other wives, such as Ralia, who only cared about jewels and her scales. Yet when I asked her she told me that it was the fate Poseidon had given her, and though she did not like to see her husband with the other wives, this was her position and she would turn her eyes away and be a loving wife and mother. It was then, as she said that, that I decided never to be a victim of fate, but to take control of my own destiny.  
  
So, the years went by, and soon I was seven years old, and the King, whom I refered to as High Father, (I did not like him much), decided that he would have the court sorcerers change my legs into a tail. The day came, and I was led deep into the sand, underneath the sea kingdom, and followed many corridors until we reached a small room that was so bright I had to squint, where many mermen decked in black seaweed were standing, a mark of the sorcerer. I removed all the shells, cloth, seaweed, and clams that I wore to show my status and to hide my lack of tail, with the help of my maids, and lay down on a plaque of rock. I closed my eyes, bracing for the pain, while they began their work.  
  
Hours passed, and I heard mutters of confusion. I opened my eyes, and gasped. They had mangled me! My legs had random patches of scales, that weren't the usual silver colour of the merpeople, but a nasty red tone. I had gashes on my lower abdomen that had seeped blood onto the sand, and my toes had grown to twice their usual size. When one saw me with my eyes open, he hissed something, and I felt myself falling into a deep, restless sleep.  
  
Hey! Thanks everyone for coming back and reading this, I am so sorry that I had said I was not continuing this, but I had no time before, and I was going to be away, so I thought it better not to keep you waiting. Sorry if this was a little gory, but it's part of the story, so I had changed the rating to PG-13 for obvious reasons. Thanks again!  
  
Aerinha: Yes, betrayal does suck. How did the publishing go???  
  
NightSiren: Hope I answered at least one question!  
  
Kaio: Sorry for the wait!  
  
Mel: Glad you like that other chap!  
  
Naughty little munchkin: Im so glad you like it, your review was great, thanks so much! Yeah, I love my name too, piranhas are verrrry awesome!  
  
Chunsa1004: Glad you like it!  
  
Shiseidox: Maybe the fluffiness will last, I dunno, I can't tell fluff from fluff!  
  
Miss Piratess: Yeah, they are sorta opposites!  
  
Elvendreams: My favorite one too!  
  
Mish: Yeah, I think I made it up, but maybe it is out there somewhere, because it isn't that original! 


End file.
